Rachael Sansom: Managing Director, Red Havas UK

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Rachael Sansom“As a leader, teams take their cues from you. Everybody has different styles, but people have to feel some sort of essence from you,” says Rachael Sansom. “And in the agency business, that’s also true in terms of the client relationship.”

Sansom speaks to creativity, why Gen Z inspires her, the value of your essential energies and reconnecting to gut instinct.

Motivated By Creativity

With an intrapraneurial mindset, Sansom stepped in to manage the public relations (PR) agency Red Havas in London, when it opened as part of the global network.

“I’m in the game for the love of the people,” says Sansom, who feels working from home has underlined how much this means to her. “Agencies are creative working environments. I’m incredibly privileged to be working with really talented and fabulous people, with strong points of view.”

While managing business and growth, creativity is the core of her personal motivation. The most satisfying part of her work is participating in team brainstorming sessions to ponder creative solutions to difficult business questions: “Creativity can come from anywhere and it can mean different things. It can be creating a campaign. You can be creative in how you manage a client or how you create opportunities for people.”

Sansom notes that the multiple industry award-winning NHS Blood and Transfusion Service’s ‘Missing Type’ campaign, – in which 1,000 organizations removed the A, O and B from their signage and social media branding to bring attention to the ‘missing types’ of donated blood – was catalyzed by the two most junior people on the team.

Inspired by Generation Z

Sansom finds it inspiring that many of the Gen Z junior coworkers have creative outlets and creative side hustles, away from their day jobs, such as designing mobile phone covers. If they’re starting this early, she feels creativity will continue to be a guiding thread through their lives.

She observes her Gen Z team members do not have the same conditioning as Gen Xers, but instead she sees a healthier notion of living in all directions: “They want to look at life in a 360-degree way – they want to work, have a side hustle, do other stuff, travel. Not only is their creativity and entrepreneurship refreshing, but they are also redefining work, relationships and sexuality.”

“I truly think it’s going to be a fundamental generational shift in the dynamics of society,” continues Sansom. “And an interesting challenge for our generation is how can we present ourselves as relevant enough? We have a lot of experience and knowledge, but how do we combine that with what Gen Z is bringing to make something special?”

Showing Respect and Self-Compassion

Sansom feels her moral compass for fairness has been a constant and has built her reputation in both the companies she’s worked in and the market: “I’m very much business is business, but there is no reason why you don’t treat everybody – down to the most junior person – with the same kindness and respect.”

She recommends to be aware not only of the reputation you’re creating through your achievements but also your manner of being, which ultimately becomes credit in the bank with others. She also recommends doing the best you can do while also being realist enough to go easy on yourself when things don’t work.

“You’re not going to be able to win every time, you don’t have to change the world every time, and sometimes things are just what they are,” says Sansom. “So it’s important for people coming up to do their best, and to know if it occasionally doesn’t go how you want, you’re probably still going to be winning 80% of the time.”

Channeling Your Energy As a Leader

Sansom has often been complimented on her bubbly energy and enthusiasm: “I work in an agency. It isn’t an easy business, and you can’t underestimate how much energy is important if you’re trying to bring a team together.”

Sansom is reluctant to admit that men in the workplace can at times, whether consciously or unconsciously, seem to dampen or discredit the energy women bring to the table. She’s definitely had the experience of being told she’s too emotional, which seeded self-doubt in the past.

“The biggest thing you can do to be successful is to be yourself and not listen to the detractors. Just let your light shine.” She confesses her own energy could be considered a bit of the “disco is about to start” in spirit – which absolutely has been a boon and a resource to draw on.

“I’ve become more conscious of my own energy as I’ve become older, and that it’s always flowing in me, but you can also learn to use it and channel it,” Sansom says. “If I’ve got to get a team going, I really think about bringing that energy to the table.”

Similar to the Learning & Development field, PR is full of women at entry level but then dominated by men at leadership level. Sansom feels the industry has a long way to go in valuing the differences in women’s more collaborative approaches to business (more focused on connection than securing transactional benefits), as well as accommodating their total responsibilities, since women often remain the primary caretakers.

Being Inspired to The Next Level

One of her “North Star” mentors, Sally Costerton, (who at that time was CEO and Chairman, EMEA of Hill & Knowlton) succeeded in a very male-dominated environment with major power figures and passed onto Sansom the playbook on how to dissect issues and problems. This insight has helped her overcome obstacles and focus on long-term planning.

“Having a mentor that inspires you, and to a certain extent protects you, will help you get to the next level, even if they’re outside of your organization,” says Sansom. “They will help give you the skills that will up your game and that is absolutely key.”

The leaders that truly inspire Sansom have the human touch: “they are as approachable to the most junior person in the organization as the most senior, and mindful of all of their people. They are thinking about how do we inspire someone at junior level? How do we draw the pipeline through, in terms of people, all the way to the top?”

She also values down-to-earth pragmatism and a genuine supportive approach in backing the team in taking risks, which is a quality she feels is essential to enabling creativity – “the freedom to make mistakes”.

Reconnecting with Gut Instinct

Though it’s not the message she feels she received, Sansom would advise more junior women who want to start a family that it’s absolutely okay to take time out with your kids because you only get that opportunity once.

“Don’t compromise what you want from a family for the sake of your career,” says Sansom. “We need to remember our job is there to fuel our life. It shouldn’t be your life itself. It’s going to be fine it you stop for a bit, if that’s what you want to do, and you will be able to come back.”

Recently Sansom has been reading philosopher Alain de Botton, which to her own amazement, has helped her reconnect with her gut instinct and her own boundaries.

“I used to lead more from my gut instinct, but being in a more male-oriented industry knocked some of that out of me, and I learned to trust my gut instincts less. I trained myself to be more rational than I was emotional,” reflects Sansom. “What reading his philosophy has done for me has made me understand that so much of my gut feeling is right, and I should go back to relying on it more, because at this point, my gut feeling is also being fueled by 25 years of experience.”

Amidst the chaos and trauma of the pandemic, Sansom also feels more people have come to the heart of the matter in their lives. She has taken to wild water swimming, loves art galleries and enjoys beautifying her home – and speculates her own creative side hustle (à la Gen Z) would be renovating old houses with recycled materials.

By Aimee Hansen

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Jessica Titlebaum Darmoni: Senior Manager, Head of Marketing, ErisX

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“You should always ask for more when you’re talking about salary,” advises Jessica Titlebaum Darmoni. “You want to demonstrate that you are willing to negotiate for the best rate, for yourself and for them.”

Darmoni speaks to self-educating herself on derivatives, the value of finding your culture match and why asking for more is an astute move.

From Creative Writing to Listed Derivatives to Crypto

Darmoni is a true self-taught financial professional.

After graduating from the University of Maryland with an English-Creative Writing degree, and a backpacking tour of Southeast Asia, she entered into the niche market of listed derivatives. Her CV was picked up online for a marketing role at a technology consulting company. Without knowing much about derivatives or having any industry connections, Darmoni found herself inside an exclusive corner of finance.

At that time, she began reading an industry newsletter published by a journalist/broker John Lothian to learn more about the listed derivatives space. After asking for an internship and working part time for John Lothian News, she went on to become the Head of Sales. Concurrently, thanks to a lot of networking for her role, she was also writing and interviewing for theglasshammer.com from near its inception and for over a decade. She credits a lot of what she has learned to John Lothian as well as The Glass Hammer founder Nicki Gilmour.

She continued to read the Financial Times, thanks to a three year gifted subscription, and has now read the analog paper for sixteen years on a daily basis. She also went back to school for a Masters in Journalism and grew her network in the derivatives space. One of her mentors Karen Wuertz gave her a career-changing piece of advice: get involved with an industry activity.

In 2009, along with her co-founder Leslie Sutphen, Darmoni created the non-for-profit networking organization Women In Listed Derivatives (WILD). At over 1200 women strong, the organization promotes networking and relationship-building among women in derivatives through social, educational and mentoring events.

Reframing the Salary Negotiation

“One of the things WILD taught me was that you should always ask for more in salary negotiations,” recommends Darmoni, who never used to realize how important it was to do so. “In fact, companies could almost expect it, because if you’re on the other side and working for the company, they want you to get them the best deal and ask for the best price. So you want to show that you are willing to negotiate, for yourself and for them.”

She credits a WILD mentor Pat Lunkes for teaching her that when you reframe the salary discussion as part of the interview, it’s not a risk to ask for more but rather a risk not to. Braving the conversation provides another opportunity to qualify yourself and set a tone around your value.

Hearing The Feedback That is Hard To Hear

Darmoni has come to value receiving the feedback that can be hard to hear. She finds even soliciting feedback by asking “why the no” can be very constructive and valuable.

“I used to hate feedback, but I think feedback and constructive criticism is so important. You may have really good intentions and just not know you’re doing something that isn’t working for you,” she says. “The feedback may be really hard to hear and digest, but sometimes it comes from a great place. Even if you may not agree, it’s good to hear it.”

Darmoni provides the personal example of being highly responsive to communication as a matter of practice. It would have been her habit to reply to a message as soon as possible, acknowledge receiving it and promise to come back with a response if she didn’t yet have one, to feel she had closed the loop. Her direct boss challenged her to break this habit and give pause before responding at all.

Now, rather than respond immediately, she steps back and responds only when she has reflected and is ready. Not only does this give her spaciousness for more thought, it shifts her value equation to her insight and expertise, rather than her availability, and helps her clarify her thinking because she’s not focused on just being responsive.

Finding Your Own Cultural Fit

Looking back on her career path, Darmoni stayed in one position for only eight months, when the cultural mismatch was both clear and painful. She emphasizes not to see a poor fit as a missed mark in your journey, but as guidance along the way.

“One of my career goals is to be a Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and I was working for a related regulatory agency. At the time, it felt like such a failure, and I was really disappointed that it didn’t work out,” she recalls. “Now I’m actually very proud of my time there. I think everybody has something on their resume that just didn’t work out the way they thought it would. I went on to find the cultures that I did fit in with.”

While it took getting past the feelings of wanting it to work, Darmoni is glad for the contrast of experiencing a culture she did not thrive in: “I know the dynamic of a team and how important that is, and I’m so grateful for where I am now.”

Shaping a New Asset Class

Darmoni currently works at ErisX, a U.S. based exchange and clearinghouse for crypto spot and derivatives markets. With her current focus on crypto, Darmoni enjoys helping to build a new asset class from the ground up: “Things are still shaking out. The leaders and players are still being developed, and we don’t yet know for certain what the major plays will be.”

As a way to explain Bitcoin, she cites the comparison between gold and Bitcoin as digital gold. Both involve mining, both are fixed in quantity and both have costs associated with mining and storing, so require hedging of risk.

With her passion for regulation, Darmoni would personally imagine there is valuable friction to come from the meeting of the established financial markets and the emerging world of unregulated crypto, though both may have to adjust how they approach the other.

She has a personal hunch that the crypto disruptors might even offer unexpected help: “My personal opinion is that decentralized initiatives may have thought-provoking solutions for problems that the established financial markets have and are working to solve.”

Darmoni admits that her 16-year self-driven love affair with finance, and especially derivatives, comes down to fascination with how much reach the market has in setting the prices of our daily lives and yet how little people know about the market itself, which makes it a powerful industry to be a part of.

The Value of Being Personally Motivated

During a Peloton ride with Robin Arzón that focused on finding your motivation within, Darmoni realized how much she resonated with being internally driven.

“I did not have a financial background so I learned mine through reading, asking questions and establishing relationships. I didn’t know a single person in finance or derivatives, whereas everybody knows everybody in my industry,” she says. “Aim to build relationships with mentors and sponsors. I’ve been lucky to have maintained great relationships with people that have helped me.”

While she used to find FT Weekend’s How To Spend It too frivolous, she admits she treated herself to a wellness retreat she found amidst its page for her 40th birthday.

This woman is even finding her vacations through her passion.

By Aimee Hansen

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Betsy Bagley: Co-Founder and Director, Pulsely

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“I want to inspire people to be more curious about the impact of things rather than just defending their intent. Because when we’re curious, we are open to hearing how different people experience the workplace and the world,” says Betsy Bagley. “If you’re not even curious about how people’s backgrounds shape their experience, you won’t be able to hear that it’s not the same for us all.”

A Family of Diverse Backgrounds

Bagley grew up in a family she affectionately calls “her parents’ collected children.” Not only did she have her three biological siblings, all who went on to become college educated, but her parents also adopted two boys out of foster care and became the guardians of four orphaned children.

While all ten children came together as one family, the impact of their different backgrounds, when it came to education and their ability to thrive, was evident to Bagley even as a girl. From the start, she learned to recognize the unique skills and strengths each individual brings, and then ask what support did they need in order to fulfill their potential.

“It enabled me to witness early on that not everybody gets the same support, which means it’s not really a level playing field. Even though we all came from the same family, we started at different places and there’s only so far the family could take us,” reflects Bagley. “That made me curious about other people’s experiences and how we create a more equitable opportunity when we bring people with different backgrounds into a workplace.”

Monitor Bias by Impact Not Intent

Across her journey, Bagley has moved from working with women and their individual challenges towards working with organizations and the systemic advantages and disadvantages that inhibit equitably supporting the success of different pools of talent.

With Catalyst, she witnessed that leaders are often quick to dismiss industry research around the business case for inclusion as too disconnected to their business. So Bagley began doing bespoke research with organizations, which was powerful in influencing leaders but expensive, resource-intensive and unscalable.

In co-founding Pulsely, Bagley has created technology-based diversity, equity and inclusion measures that are accessible, fluid and actionable for all kinds of organizations. She assesses diversity (representation within a company); inclusion (whether different demographic groups feel welcome, supported and able to be authentic in the workplace); and equity (whether different demographic groups are having similar or disparate experiences of that workplace).

When it comes to how to reframe the DEI conversation to navigate it constuctively, Bagley encourages separating intent from impact.

“What you will often hear is leaders defending their intent: ‘So are you saying that we discriminate? Are you saying that we aren’t fair?’,” she summarizes. “But the opportunity is if we can recognize that despite our best intentions, our decisions sometimes have impacts that we don’t intend. It’s important to be curious about the cumulative impacts of individual decisions, along with organizational systems and policies.”

Look For Patterns Not Decisions

A previous mentor at Catalyst imparted upon Bagley that it’s important for organizations to understand that each individual talent decision can make perfect sense and be defended, at the level of each decision. But it’s the patterns of those talent decisions that you have to look at, and that’s where you see the potential for bias.

“When the patterns of your decisions consistently favor a certain demographic group, it’s important to have conversations about that,” says Bagley. “No, it’s not our intent, and yet look at the result. And what message do people who aren’t in that majority group receive?”

One piece of research Bagley finds compelling reviewed performance appraisals in the military. When looking at the objective scoring, there was no difference between men and women’s scores; it was equitable. But in subjective descriptives, the use of adjectives was incredibly different based strictly on gender – more task-oriented for men, more relationship-oriented for women. That subjective difference matters.

“These are patterns I want to shine a light on,” says Bagley. She feels that 2020 helped to do so at a collective level, so now investors, boards and employees are holding organizations more accountable for how they manage diversity and opportunity within their workforce.

Taking the Lead on Accountability

“The organizations I experience that are creating the best opportunity for progress are where the leaders are role modeling a willingness to engage in difficult conversations and admitting where they’ve made mistakes,” notes Bagley. “It’s a different place to begin the conversation.”

She cites an example during her Catalyst consulting where women at one company revealed that the word cloud differences based on performance appraisals were all derived from reviews written by women themselves (despite their own best intentions and yes, creating different outcomes).

“Instead of trying to accuse, blame and shame others, those stories that inspire real change are where people are saying we’re all part of the problem, so we all need to be a part of the solution,” says Bagley. “Those conversations where the people leading the conversation are not there to point fingers, but to be vulnerable themselves.”

Connecting the Dots to Qualify Yourself

Early in her career, Bagley shifted between positions as she moved with her husband ’s work. So when recommended for an interview at Catalyst, she didn’t have the traditional Ivy League background, impressive titles or big roles, but she was able to demonstrate why the value she brought uniquely qualified her.

“It’s your job to connect the dots in a way that makes sense for the job that you are applying for. You don’t just throw your dots out there and expect somebody else to connect them,” says Bagley. “That makes it too hard to hire you if you’re not the natural choice. You have the opportunity to connect the dots and build the story for why you’re the best candidate.”

For Catalyst, Bagley had the advantage of receiving a competency-based interview challenge related to the job, which often is more objective than a resume and helpful in qualifying non-traditional candidates.

Furthermore, she made a point of giving an evidence-based narrative of her skills and experiences, such as being entrepreneurially minded, being successful in building business through her network, and using her analytical skills to create and implement research: “I pulled different examples from different roles and projects to demonstrate the competencies that they were looking for.”

“On the other side of the table, I also need you as an interviewee to help me to make the connections with what we’re seeking,” she advises. “It can’t be so much work for me as an interviewer to figure out whether you’re the best candidate. So don’t just show up, say here I am, and wait for me to see how right you are.”

Solutions That Work For Everyone

Bagley notes that the work-from-home environment of our times has put pressure on parents and especially mothers of school-age children, though it’s hitting fathers as well. She hopes that organizations will recognize it’s not a time of individual challenge, but a call to change how we organize work to equitably support the valuable contributions of our full team of talent – such as allowing more agile and self-determined work schedules.

Also during the pandemic, she discovered that hiking is her true happy place, with her eyes set upon a move to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the future. She can also be found escaping into a great fiction novel. Investing her energy in extended family is what most feeds her soul.

By Aimee Hansen

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Charlene Kennedy: CEO, PGIM Private Capital (Ireland)

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Charlene Kennedy“One of the key attributes of a great leader is authenticity, therefore I refuse to have separate work and home life personalities” says Charlene Kennedy. “ I believe it is time to change the message that women or indeed anyone, needs to adjust their personalities to fit with the corporate world.”

Kennedy speaks to starting out her working life as a mom, leading from authenticity and vulnerability, and holding your vision.

Going Into Her Career as a Young, Single Mom

Kennedy gave birth to her first son in her final year of law studies so being a working mom was her reality from the start: “When I think back, the image that really stands out is sitting at this desk in my little college apartment, the baby in a rocker, and me rocking the baby with my foot while working my way through big, thick law books.”

As a single mother, Kennedy completed her law licensing exams and then secured a role with PricewaterhouseCoopers in their corporate finance team where she qualified as an accountant.

Shortly before the banking crisis, she joined Bank of Scotland Ireland, and was there until the company exited the Irish market. Kennedy then reassessed where she wanted to live and moved to the north coast area of Ireland to enjoy the lifestyle and support of family while growing her own. It was there where she joined Prudential. Coinciding with the arrival of her third child, she moved into PGIM Private Capital, and became CEO of their Irish entity 18 months ago.

“It’s been an extremely challenging but also a very rewarding year. My legal background, my finance background, my banking background, every single one of those aspects I use and weave together in my day-to-day role as CEO,” says Kennedy. “Each twist and turn along the way led me to being the right person for this role at the right time.”

Why Being a Mom Enhanced Her Career

“In my early 20s, most of my peers and colleagues were out partying at the weekend. I think being a mom really focused me on my career,” reflects Kennedy. “I was either at work or studying, or I was looking after my son. I was very serious early because I had a lot of responsibility, which from a career aspect is very helpful.”

She still remembers her weekly and daily schedule, as keeping to a rhythm was important in making her full life work: “Those years built resilience. I gained an ability to deal with challenges, because I confronted so many of them early on.”

Being Led by Curiosity and Desire for Growth

“I am extremely curious. I believe that knowledge and perspective bring a deeper understanding of what you are doing and why you are doing it. The bigger picture perspective allows you to deliver over and above what your role allows and creates opportunity for you and your company,” says Kennedy.

An essential ingredient to self-development in leadership, she feels her curiosity has truly come into greater value in the C-suite, where Kennedy is constantly interpreting “what does this mean?”

Kennedy has learned to embrace that she’s wired for growth more than comfort.

“I’ve had to accept about myself, and my personality, that I always want to be involved and be moving forward,” says Kennedy. “Even when I have taken jobs that could be a Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, which are good from a lifestyle perspective, I could not just say stop and enjoy it. I couldn’t help but to involve myself in other projects.”

She has learned to manage her own drive to intentionally balance both family and work, which calls on those boundaries she learned young. Today, she is mom to three sons, who are 18, 4 and 2.

“I come home and I put down the phone or the laptop in a corner for family time,” says Kennedy. “I block out my calendar so nobody can put meetings in when the kids are home from daycare so I have those hours exclusively with them, and then I’m open to a meeting with colleagues once they are in bed.”

Holding To Your Vision

Along with many women in her generation, Kennedy feels she was strongly influenced in her worldview by seeing Mary Robinson, a lawyer, who had studied at Trinity College in Ireland and at Harvard Law School, become the first female president of Ireland in 1990: “My mother sat me down in front of the TV during the inauguration and said, ‘If a woman can become president of this country, there is nothing in this world stopping you from being who you want to be and doing what you want to do.’”

Kennedy feels that she internalized that message as a young woman, as did many women in her generation, and it has fortified their sense of belonging to their dreams.

From early on, Kennedy learned the value of keeping your eyes set on the big picture, regardless of situational challenges. “There have been hurdles and challenges along the way, but I don’t focus on them, I focus on where it is I want to go, and the hurdles eventually fade away, and I keep moving forward.”

“That’s the resilience I built,” she says.

Being Authentic as a Woman Leader and Embracing Vulnerability

The biggest skill that Kennedy has leaned into more in her CEO position is vulnerability.

“When you come from a technical background, whether it’s on the law side or the finance side, you pride yourself on technical knowledge and knowing everything about everything,” she notes. “As you step into leadership roles, that isn’t always going to be the case. You have to learn to be comfortable with not knowing everything and turning to others for guidance.”

“I like to surround myself with people that are a lot smarter than me and people from different backgrounds and perspectives. I embrace their challenge and feedback, and actually feel quite uncomfortable in an environment where everyone agrees with me.”

Kennedy has observed that if we truly value authenticity in leadership, then we should not encourage women to fit into a corporate mold that precludes the ability to be themselves.

“I love to see people push the boundaries a little. My husband, as a joke one year, bought me a book on defiant Irish women. I loved it. I keep that book on my desk, and it reminds me that we can achieve great things. You can be professional and successful, but you can also be yourself.”

Beyond all the advice one might receive on how you need to be and how you need to act as a leader, Kennedy suggests one benchmark: “At the end of the day, when you look back, how do you feel about how you behaved as a person? If you want to be proud of what you did, the way you do that is to be true to yourself.”

Being Approachable and Team-Oriented

Kennedy’s first partner she worked for at PwC is among her most inspiring leaders—and one she would want to emulate. He was personable, down-to-earth and approachable, but extremely knowledgeable and effective in his role. Those qualities inspired the organic support and loyalty of his team.

When it comes to managing her teams, Kennedy pulls from her experience playing team sports to emphasize the team approach: “We all have our roles and we all have to equally put in our input in order to deliver on a team focus,” she notes. “We all have our responsibilities, but we all need each other. It’s never about just one person, and when someone is overly focused on only themselves, it is disruptive.”

With time, the one thing Kennedy has improved on is embracing mistakes, and knowing that one mistake does not define a career nor negate your many accomplishments. She remembers a time when a mistake would have overtaken her focus, and she’s had to learn to overcome that tendency to beat herself up.

“I’ve learned to be easier on myself throughout the years. It’s still not easy and it’s something that I have to work at. I have found ways that help me relax, such as exercising and going to reflexology on a regular basis,” says Kennedy.

Kennedy’s sons are her greatest achievements. After hiking to Everest base camp back in 2012, she loves to hike in the mountains of coastal Ireland around Donegal with her family, where she relishes the energetic high of an expanded perspective.

By Aimee Hansen

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“Be Present and Be Bold” – Advice From Nicole Pullen Ross, PWM Partner, Goldman Sachs

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Nicole Pullen Ross“For two years in my bathroom, there was a post-it on my mirror that said “Partner,” shared Nicole Pullen Ross, region head of the New York Private Wealth Management (PWM) business at Goldman Sachs. She also leads the PWM Sports and Entertainment Solutions (SES) offering.

Ross, who was named partner in 2020, said of her experience being promoted: “My career has been focused on working hard for our clients and our business. To be named partner in 2020, and recognized and rewarded for my hard work and dedication to the firm, was an extraordinary accomplishment.”

Identifying a Need – and Founding a Specialty Offering

Ross, who joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 after a stint at JP Morgan and business school, was focused on advising individuals and families within PWM. Over the course of her career, she honed her skills as a Private Wealth Advisor (PWA). Ross now serves as region head of the New York PWM business, and in 2018, led the effort to found the PWM Sports and Entertainment Solutions offering.

“We founded the offering with the aim of supporting the complex financial needs of athletes, entertainers and those in the industry,” Ross said. “We were confident Goldman Sachs could provide differentiated services and advice to this unique client group.”

“I always remind myself what a privilege it is to be busy doing such extraordinary work with so many incredible clients,” Ross said.

The Importance of Being “Bold” and Investing in Women

As she gained seniority throughout her career, Ross became aware of what an important role being “bold and confident” has on an individual’s career. “When I began my career, like many women, my confidence was tied to how much I thought I knew about a topic,” she said. “Now, I appreciate that there is a combination of things that are important – you have to be excellent and be a content expert, but you also need confidence in your own voice, be present and be bold, in order to be seen as a leader.”

PWM’s launch of WRAP – or Women Reaching Accelerated Potential – was referenced by Ross as one way in which the business aims to support women’s career growth. “WRAP was founded by women within PWM, for women within PWM, with the goal of helping more women become successful PWAs,” Ross said. “By connecting participants with senior PWA mentors and other senior individuals across the firm, and equipping them with the skills to be successful, we’ve had great success.” She noted that “some of PWM’s most successful advisors” are WRAP alumnae.


Ross added that as a partner, she also serves as a mentor to a greater array of individuals across the firm. “The expectation from colleagues that they have access to leadership is one of the things that is special about Goldman Sachs,” Ross said. “The opportunity to engage with more junior members of the firm and provide advice and perspectives to more people is one of the most rewarding aspects of my transition to partner.”

Delivering One Goldman Sachs to Clients

Commenting on her team’s focus on delivering “One Goldman Sachs” to clients, Ross said: “I’m very excited about the work we’re doing across the firm tied to the One Goldman Sachs initiative. We aim to bring one firm to our clients, with a seamless approach in terms of how they receive advice and guidance.”

Within PWM, Ross also shared the business hopes to “extend a sense of familiarity and community among our clients” and cultivate “authentic, trusted relationships” in order to best serve them. She noted that PWM is doing this in several ways, including by developing tailored initiatives to target select client groups.

Ross referenced the recent launch of In the Lead, a platform providing insights, resources and advice to empower ultra-high net worth women to take the lead in their wealth, philanthropy and legacy as one such initiative. She also mentioned PWM’s focus on inclusive wealth, in which the firm aims to be the advisor of choice for diverse clients. “We want to ensure that our clients feel our platform and advice is aligned to and supports their diverse interests and needs,” Ross said.

Beyond the Day-to-Day

Ross also serves as the Americas head of the firm’s Black Network. She noted the network works alongside groups throughout the firm, including Human Capital Management. The Black Network “strives to accomplish important work related to the recruitment and retention of Black professionals at the firm,” Ross said. “I’m encouraged to continue this work, particularly as the firm just announced our most diverse managing director class ever – but there’s still more work to be done.”

Outside of the office, Ross prioritizes spending time with her family. “Our hobby is being together – my children are teenagers now, and I know they’ll be off to college in a few years,” she said. “Throughout the pandemic we were able to maximize our time together, which I really valued, and continue to do so even as things are opening back up again.”

In addition, Ross serves on the Board of Trustees of the Brookings Institute, Hampton University and the United Negro College Fund.

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Sara Coelho: Partner, Financial Restructuring & Insolvency, Shearman & Sterling LLP

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Sara Coelho“I’m open to things going in a lot of different directions and to seeing things in a different way than people expect,” says Sara Coelho. “I really try to foster that approach, because novel solutions bubble up.”

Coelho talks about why her practice is a jack-of-all-trades art, standing her ground as a woman and the creativity of receptivity within law.

The “Liberal Arts Area of Law”

With Shearman & Sterling since 2016, and promoted to partner this past July, Coelho has been in the insolvency practice for fifteen years.

“Any time you have an insolvency situation, by definition people can’t follow the law. When something isn’t working, you get to take a deep dive into why and have to figure out a way to make something of that, and the tools really vary depending on the business,” she says. “Every situation has its own dimensions, so you constantly get to learn something new. If you are a liberal arts major, you would like what I do.”

Coelho continues, “I’m often doing things I have no prior expertise in, for example, negotiating tax debt and tax statutes, because of the underlying needs of the situation,” she further explains. “Sometimes we litigate to get to a resolution of a dispute. Sometimes we create deals. We’ll use any field of law to construct a deal that takes the situation to a better place.”

Her area is so flexible that when students ask her about a typical day, Coelho tells them to give her a year and she’ll say what she was doing in that period of time. Collaboration with other lawyers and financial advisors is critical to her work: often part of the solution is bringing in the expert who knows the tried-and-true approach, and another is confronting an issue alien to anything she’s ever done. Hence, the sophistication of problems, quality of people and intellectual challenges have held her attention in this field.

The Creativity of Receptivity

Coelho feels persistence has served her. She has always been able to put her head down and commit to a project she’s taken on. She’s been called a “lawyer’s lawyer” in that she has an analytical curiosity and loves to go deep into a problem, which means encouraging a spaciousness for unexpected solutions.

“There’s often a real reluctance to bring forward something that is a little off the wall,” she observes, “but you could miss an opportunity that way.”

In law, creativity is often less conceiving of something new and bringing it into existence, but rather an artful receptivity to the hidden key that already exists that you’re not yet seeing.

“So much of law is a very set underlying body of concepts, and people lose track of a big percentage of it. So often there is just something lurking there, that’s pretty direct and obvious, but actually very hard to see if you don’t come at it with an open mindset,” she explains. “It’s a receptivity, an orientation of faith that there’s going to be useful things that emerge. It’s a melding of a creative mindset with the orthodox.”

Staking Her Ground As A Woman

While Coelho admits her field has an inadequate representation of women, especially senior partners, she also often finds there are more women than she realized. She also feels the reputation of being male-dominated deters women from considering a field they might thrive in: “There are women who are thriving in all of the difficult roles and more than you would think.”

At the same time, Coelho acknowledges that she does feels some pressure to be beyond perfect and tends to speak concisely, getting to her point quickly while she has the moment, whereas she witnesses men talk at length without the social pressure to be precise.

“I’m working on trying to take up more time and space, and defending the perimeter to be able to do that,” she notes, “because sometimes you can’t appropriately advocate otherwise.”

Coelho acknowledges that being a woman distinguishes you, but that advantage can backfire if you’re perceived as the woman lawyer and especially if there’s a general assumption of irrelevance.

For example, on a conference call for a major deal where both Coelho and another female counterpart lawyer represented different clients with predictably different perspectives, the opposing side confused their two arguments, because, she suspects, the woman lawyers’ voices were understood as interchangeable. Coelho finds it hard to imagine that same bewildering lack of differentiation occurring for a man.

“Things still go on, but at the same time, you’re just focused on the problem and the work,” says Coelho. She notes that self-validating verbal feedback from highly respected top lawyers has been a touchstone to measure her lawyering and has kept her from falling into an unproductive level of self-questioning, especially when she’s confronted with aggression or doubt.

Clarifying The “Stupid Questions“

In addition to helping associates become familiar with the essential craft of her “renaissance profession,” Coelho seeks to demystify some of the basics that challenged her. When she first began, she felt one of the hardest parts was just figuring out how things got done – down to how you frame an e-mail and how long you wait to chase up on it.

Coelho volunteers information and invites the conversation around questions she found perplexing when starting out, especially if the response she had was reactive or dismissive: “I try to ask, what would have been the most constructive response for me?”

“For example, as a lawyer, to say how much time should I spend on something is a very loaded question because obviously you should do the best job possible for the client. Well, the best job possible might mean thousands of hours or significant expense, and maybe the client doesn’t want that,” she notes. “So there’s always this judgment about how exactly to approach the problem, how much depth to go in and what are the optimal things to focus on. These are complex judgements people have to make, so I like to be transparent about that kind of process.”

Boiling down why inviting questions as a senior lawyer is important, Coelho says: “The stupid question is the most important one to ask because you definitely don’t want to make a stupid mistake.”

For women in particular, Coelho also emphasizes the importance of really stepping back to ask what you personally want, rather than letting the ongoing demands of your external environment, including simply keeping up with the work, dictate where you end up.

An Unforgettable Mentor

Coelho considers her grandmother the most mindful person she has ever met. As a child, Coelho would join her in hanging laundry, picking fruit or doing some other form of tending to ordinary things.

The most unforgettable moment that affected her was listening to her grandmother talk about one single lemon with such elaborate understanding and appreciation that it underlined a whole wisdom of her Grandmother’s way of living in the world: “Listening to her talk about this lemon and what it was, exactly why it had a different flavor than others and how you would use it, in such depth, crystallized for me her way of being and how wonderful that is. And how much better life is, if you can bring that sort of appreciation and experience to whatever it is you’re doing.”

Coelho adores her three and a half year old son, Caleb, and, in addition to being a prolific reader of social sciences “light” and economics, loves to garden – and as her grandmother, tend attentively to the small and sacred matters of the home.

By Aimee Hansen

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Cheryl Akawie: Head of U.S. Investment Grade Research, PGIM Fixed Income

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“There’s still a notion that all paths in investing lead to investment banking, which dissuades many women from entering into a career in investing, but it’s definitely not the case,” says Cheryl Akawie.

Akawie speaks to holding to your values, the importance of curiosity and why you want to learn from and be the kind of leader you respect.

An Ever-Changing Context

Joining Prudential out of Lehigh University as a finance major, Akawie relatively quickly gravitated from investment auditing to working directly with investments, where she felt her skills and interest would be optimized.

For over 28 years, she’s been working in investments–covering some of the major sectors she began with, such as telecom and cable–and stretching into new sectors such as media and technology.

“Everything changes–the companies have changed, the industries change. Right now, the tech industry is going through tremendous change,” says Akawie. “I’m watching which companies will be winners and losers, so my job stays interesting even within the same sectors.”

Akawie calls herself a ‘credit geek’: “I like to dig into the details of companies and figure out what makes them tick and what they might do next. What will make them successful or not successful as things change–will the big names in linear television be successful when the world has moved to streaming?”


She appreciates how integrated the investment process is from start to finish at PGIM Fixed Income, with hand-in-hand collaboration between analysts and portfolio managers. Taking on a new position leading the U.S. investment grade research team a couple years back has allowed her to support experts across the various sectors, helping ensure the well-established investment process runs smoothly and her teams’ contributions are recognized.

Holding To Your Values

“To me, what has mattered in my success has been being true to myself and not compromising my beliefs. That applies in many different ways,” says Akawie. “For example, I could not be on the sell-side and push an investment idea if I didn’t believe in it. As an analyst, I analyze it and tell it like it is. I’m not going to hold back on my views. Being on the buy-side, we don’t have to buy everything, so it has always been a good natural home for me.”

Going further, she expresses: “I think that principle has stood through all aspects of my career and added to my leadership. You should never compromise your values and you should be willing to stand up for what’s right. You should be willing to stand up for your team.”

Moving into a leadership role has meant taking a more holistic view not only in looking comparatively across industries, but also putting herself in the shoes of others when making organizational decisions.

“If we’re trying to revamp a process, I have to consider what may work better for the team,” she says. “As a leader, it’s important to step out of my role and put myself as the team leader and the organizational leader to consider what is best for the team, regardless of whether it would negatively impact or be inconvenient for me.”

Choosing Your Leadership Approach

Akawie feels her promotion largely came down to her track record on training up more junior analysts across the years. She enjoys working with junior talent and imparting her skills to help develop their ability to analyze, especially appreciating the moment when it all “clicks,” which she argues only happens when the analyst learns to combine fundamental credit research analysis and the relative value decision around which bonds to own.

Her personal leadership approach is to be relatable and approachable, and she keeps an open door policy.

“I had to figure out what kind of leader I wanted to be, and I’ve had different kinds of managers over the years. I’ve had the micromanager, where they want to check over everything that you do. I’ve had the more hands-off manager that recognizes you are a professional,” she says. “I chose to emulate my style more from the latter, because I respected when I was on the other side. I’m here if you need me. I’ll be your coach and advocate. But to get from here to there, use your own style, as long as you get it done.”

Myth-busting: Not All Investment Careers are Investment Banking

In addition to running the investment grade credit research group, Akawie is actively involved in recruiting for the credit research team in addition to sitting on the Talent Council, so she has a special window into the underrepresentation of women.

“It really frustrates me that even now it’s still such a male-dominated industry and in any meeting, there are still noticeably fewer women in the room,” says Akawie, who feels a perception issue plays into this.

“There’s still this perception that all investment careers are investment banking, where you don’t have a life,” she says. “I really wish there was a way to get the message out to young women that there are plenty of fulfilling, lucrative careers that you can have in asset management that don’t involve working 18-hour days and weekends. You can actually live a balanced life while also being a successful investment professional.”

Passion And Curiosity Go A Long Way

Akawie feels that having a passion for investments, as well as a strong intellectual curiosity, is a cornerstone of being a successful credit analyst or portfolio manager.

“Your mind should always be open because you can find investment ideas anywhere. You hear something on the news, or you read an article in Barron’s–you see something not necessarily in your industry, but it could be related,” she notes. “It’s that intellectual curiosity and passion that matters, because it won’t seem like a job, and you’ll have a long and dynamic career.”

Akawie also presses that it’s a measure of intelligence to be honest about what you don’t know, and that it’s critical to remember that in the world of investments, you’re never going to get everything right.

“We’re investing in corporate bonds. They’re not guaranteed. You’re not going to be right 100% of the time,” she says. “One of the harder things when you’re trying to transition somebody from a junior analyst to a senior analyst is developing that willingness to stick your neck out, express your opinion and not be afraid to be wrong. And if you are wrong, admit and own it, don’t make excuses, simply learn and move on.”

She leverages her own curiosity to convert the occasional missed call into a learning experience: “I often review, and I’ll ask what did I miss? What could I have done differently? And, then you make a better investment decision next time because of what you learned this time.”

Being A Leader You Would Respect

Akawie has found informal mentorships are the most valuable kinds of mentoring, which comes back to being open and approachable.

“To be a mentor or to be a mentee, you have to open up and not be afraid to share parts of yourself–so that people actually get to know you and they’re willing to share their secret sauce,” she says. “And I think that comes from having personal relationships. If everything is just business, I think it makes it hard for that relationship to develop.”

When choosing who you wish to learn from, Akawie goes with whom she truly respects. For her, that’s someone who takes pride in their work and gives their full energy, earning the respect of their team, because this is what she values and wishes to do.

Akawie loves traveling the world and seeing new cultures, which have included Africa, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. Currently, she’s steeped in her latest passion of home remodeling.

By: Aimee Hansen

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Sharon Claffey Kaliouby: VP Strategic Alliances, Learning Pool

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Sharon Claffey KalioubyAs I matured through the corporate world, I saw that many organizations that don’t succeed in L&D are valuing what you know versus what you share,” says Sharon Claffey Kaliouby. “The learning approaches we’re focusing on are a catalyst for change, in creating opportunities to learn collaboratively to facilitate the business goals.”

As a leader in the field of learning and development (L&D), Kaliouby speaks to her life-long love of learning, why paradoxically breaking our educational conditioning is inherent to professional success, and the quandary of the L&D leadership gender gap.

Learning is About Sharing, Not Just Knowing

Named one of the Top 50 Leaders in Learning & Development in 2019 and honored as Learning Professional of the Year in 2018 by The Learning & Performance Institute, Kaliouby is passionate about helping organizations to drive their goals forward by building individual and organization-wide capabilities through education.

“You can spend your entire life doing something that everybody else thinks you should do,” she advises her own daughters. “Or you can do something you totally love and are passionate about, and feel truly alive. That’s the direction you should always go. Stick with your inner gut and don’t let anyone change your mind.”

Kaliouby worked in-house for nearly twenty years before making an intentional move to Learning Pool, a pioneering full-service customized e-learning provider working across a large international client base, from companies to NGOs to higher education.

Kaliouby speaks emphatically about reframing what we value in and how we experience learning: “As we go through our educational system, and almost anywhere in the world, there is one thing that collaboration is usually called: cheating. Collaboration in the school system is called cheating, so we’re educated not to collaborate.”

In academia, success often means not sharing your knowledge but that flips the moment we exit formal education. She notes women are disproportionately represented among top students but not top executives. The early displaced value on autonomous success can also stunt institutional development.

“Innovative organizations are sharing cultures who want employees to share their success and knowledge with other colleagues. You’re not elevated in the organization based on how much more you know than others, but how much you share the knowledge,“ observes Kaliouby.

Learning that Values Your Participation

With Learning Pool, the L&D objectives begin with asking what learning is going to be most directly valuable to the core organizational goals. The strategic approach is that learners not only comprehend the content, but are also involved in their education, with their participation being a factor in the measure of their learning success. Sharing (such as comments in an online forum) becomes weighted by the richness of knowledge the individual holds and shares, rather than their title.

Kaliouby is increasingly motivated by Learning Pool’s Learning Experience Platform (LXP) Stream, which is designed to enable the self-determined learner to find and to access particular courses they need or want for themselves. She points out that the rush to compulsory online education in the past eighteen months widely replicated the classroom rather than customizing education for the positive capabilities of this medium, and this has potentially created resistance to online learning among a whole generation of students. But at the same time, that challenging experience may compel reflection from those students, based on what they truly needed, that compels developments yet to come in the L&D space.

Going Back to Being Human and Being Learners

When it comes to remote working, ‘upskilling’ and ‘reskilling’ are part of the hot themes right now, and with Covid-19, the L&D field has moved towards the human side of business in many ways – such as skilling up on EQ, capacity for empathy and holistic communication skills.

“Some people that were hired as a CEO in 2018 were not equipped to be the chief empathy office of 2020 or 2021. But what’s nice is the human equation is now being valued, as much as learning data analytics in the scientific backgrounds were highly valued,” notes Kaliouby. “We need soft skills now because we’re all in crisis mode, but I hope it’s more than a trend.”

From her perspective, we’re circling back to the 1990’s when family and kids were invited into the office or gatherings. Whereas in the 2000’s, the 9/11 and financial crises put sustained employment into more jeopardy, and it became safer emotionally not to know each other so personally. With Zoom, we’re invited back into witnessing colleagues in their lives outside of work, and this impacts learning too.

“Now, we want learning to be about the whole person. When you’re learning something in your organization, to better the business goals, you also want to be building for yourself too,” says Kaliouby. “You’re building knowledge that’s going to make you a different, more insightful or more aware person, regardless of what the topic is.”

She notes that for the first time, a lot of people have the space and bandwidth to take up guitar or language lessons online, for example, rather than just be entertained. We are in some way becoming learners again, who wish to be effective in all spherical aspects of our lives.

Why Are There Too Few Women Leaders in L&D?

In 2013, Kaliouby became the co-founder of #WomeninLearning, which actively promotes women in learning and leadership – supporting an awareness of gender equality and an environment committed to a more diverse future. Bringing great talent into an industry is not the same as threading that talent up to leadership, and the gender gap at the top of L&D is astounding considering it’s a predominantly female field.

2019 research data showed that while women are coming into the learning field as 2/3 of support roles, and many assume women lead the field, they actually comprise less than 1/3 of senior authority roles at the leadership level. Compared to a male-dominated field like finance, Kaliouby notes, “It’s even worse news because we have more women in the learning sector, and we’re still flipping it: there’s more men than women leaders.”

#WomeninLearning has raised the conversation, even in the context of her own household: “I see my daughter, who is in the workforce, sharing her salary with her friends and speak adamantly that she can’t understand why the guys over there that didn’t do as well in school are making more money. They’re stating, ‘we’re not going to stand for this and we’re not going to stand for diversity of thought not to be valued’.”

Due to a recent company acquisition, Kaliouby has had the opportunity to become more familiar with Higher Education, and finds the approach to managing gender dynamics intriguing: “In Higher Education, the women actively state they don’t care about the title, but they want to earn equal pay. I think in the corporate world, we focused too much on wanting the right title, but if we’re never going to catch up on the salary, that’s to the side.”

Not only does the notion of not having equal room for women in leadership (“space for one”) work against women helping to bring other women up, but Kaliouby notes that the ‘confidence gap’ has a real basis in hiring trends: “Women are hired on their experience not their potential, and men are hired on their potential,” she says. “And that is the biggest disaster in regards to the gender gap in learning.” Women self-select themselves out of applying for a job if they do not have the exact background and this is even more limiting (we can’t get there if we are not even applying for the roles).

She notes that 94% of C-Suite women have all played a sport, and playing sports builds both a grit and resilience, as well as learning what you’re particularly skilled at, and what you’re not.

So she recommends picking up a new sport: “If you pick up something brand-new, you’ll know what it’s like to start and be an entry level person. You’ll know that awkward feeling, the ability not to fully understand your full map, and you might develop another angle of empathy as well.”

A two-time member of the USFA National gold medal women’s sabre fencing team herself, Kaliouby recently began a couple of new sports, including pickle ball. She accredits her athletic background for giving her a perseverance that has served her professional journey.

A Lifelong Appreciation of Self-Development

“I could have been a full-time student forever. That was always my desire, she says. “I do feel like I’m a lifelong learner now.”

When reflecting back on her passion and love for learning, Kaliouby feels the valuing of education in her Irish Catholic family home in Boston imprinted strongly upon her. She witnessed her father get his diploma while employed as a Policeman, and he emphasized to her that the one thing someone can never take away from you is your intelligence. He went on to become a university professor of criminal justice. Though she lost him young, her own passion for learning today carries on his legacy of the drive to realize further capacities and visions that are seeded within oneself.

Both of her daughters, top achievers academically, carried on the family legacy of valuing education and learned Arabic growing up (with mom auditing class with them as well), as their father is Egyptian. In addition to continuing her sports participation with fencing, pickle ball and more, learning sign language is the next personal stretch that Kaliouby has her eyes set on.

By: Aimee Hansen

Learning Pool offers innovative learning platforms not only including the LXP Stream, but also a Learning Management System and a Learning Record Store (LRS) titled Learning Locker (one of the most downloaded LRS’ in the world). Learning Pool also offers off the shelf courseware (as well as custom courses). Kaliouby is most proud of the Corporate Social Responsibility courses made available for ALL at no cost on their website – including courses focused on climate change, mental health, stress, anxiety and the uncomfortable truth of racial inequality.

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Loredana Crisan: VP, Messaging Experience — Messenger & Instagram

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Loredana CrisanIn her role at Meta, Loredana Crisan leads the product and engineering teams crafting messaging experiences for the billion-strong community on Messenger and Instagram. From formally studying musical composition in her birth country of Romania to influencing how we connect daily at one of tech’s giants, Crisan shares with theglasshammer on why she focuses on creating over achieving, how her background in music infuses her creative approach to designing experiences and how building teams of complementary experts is like creating a symphony orchestra.

Q. You’ve gone from studying musical composition in Romania, to product and graphic design in tech, to heading up the entire product experience on Messenger. What thread have you followed to be where you are?

My formal education is in classical music, and I didn’t study STEM or design in school. It would have been easy for people to brush me off and assume I wasn’t qualified for a career in tech. However, my educational background in music composition and the years spent practicing an instrument has helped shape my focus on long term outcomes and helped me develop my own leadership and problem-solving skills.

My success was not a straight path, especially not being an American and not trained as a designer. But, I never thought of these as hurdles, instead I remained open to opportunities.

I did not make an explicit decision to work in tech — I joined a start-up as a sound engineer. We were working on a product, and I really wanted to make that product better. To do that, I had to switch mediums from sound to visuals. Using my creativity from music, I went from different mediums, sound to UI. Moving to Product, I went from creating the experience to executing the experience, and leaning into the vision for how people use the experience.

Q. How do you see the tech industry as enhanced by non-traditional candidates like yourself?

As a product team leader, when recruiting, I seek out qualities like resourcefulness, creativity, and other traits that don’t necessarily jump off the page when reading a resume or browsing a LinkedIn profile.

I’d encourage all product leaders to be more open-minded throughout the recruitment process. Just because a candidate’s background differs from the conventional, doesn’t mean they aren’t qualified.

Q. We understand you are passionate about “relinquishing gender stereotypes” in the tech industry. Tell us more about your experience as a woman in tech.

I honestly wish the world was a lot less gendered. Biases exist of course, but looking at my tween kids, they’re starting to reject these constructs and it’s so much freer for them.

I’ve worked in male-dominated industries quite a bit. I have a deep belief that regardless of gender, if you overcome imposter feelings, you learn, develop and grow. I don’t stop to think about what would have happened if I wasn’t a woman.

I’ve learned to embrace my inner self and inner weirdness and break away from stereotypes – even gender. You can see this expressed in artwork we design on Messenger. We’re hoping to help people express how they really feel whether that’s through an AR effect, camera sticker, or 360-degree immersive background.

Q. You emphasize “creating vs. achieving” as a secret to your success. Can you expand on what this means to you?

In a music setting, you don’t just pick what you want to play and skip ahead to the performance. It’s all about what goes into the preparation and development of that performance.

This is true for product teams too. Focusing on the outcome exclusively robs your team of the joy of paying attention to the details. To set your team up for success, allow them to focus on the flow of making something exciting every step of the way.

For example, earlier this year when we unveiled Soundmojis, our team was focused on creating fun, delightful sounds that could be used across a broad range of contexts. In one instance, our sound engineers even travelled to an organic California farm to record actual goats! By allowing my team to be creative and enjoy the process of developing the Soundmojis, we were ultimately able to create experiences that are also fun for our users.

Q. You have paralleled building a team of experts to auditioning a band and compared working with teams to creating a symphony. Can you tell us more?

The beauty of an orchestra performance lies in hearing very different instruments come together to create one harmonious and complex piece of music. Whether you’re performing in front of an audience, developing hardware, or creating a new user interface (UI), putting together an effective team means thinking in a holistic manner.

If you were to hire only cellists for an orchestra, the resulting music would be limited to their specialist capabilities. It would miss the rhythmic beat of the percussion section, the timbre of the brass section, and so much more. Similarly, if you have a team made up of designers, your product may have a beautiful UI but clunky functionality supporting it. It’s only when you have the right mix of skills, along with an open work environment, that all the necessary elements can come together.

Also keep in mind that generalists can give your team more flexibility whereas specialists bring a high level of expertise in their field. When working on a project, having those generalists involved can help ensure every part of a product is getting the attention it needs throughout development. Any good team needs a mix of specialists and generalists to bring a variety of skills and perspectives to building products.

When we’re working, I like to tell my team to “mind the gap” – meaning the gap between what they do, whether that’s engineering, design, or business strategy, and what their teammates do. This is where the real opportunity lies for teams to be creative, push boundaries and deliver innovations to users.

Q. What particularly fascinates you and propels you each day?

Life happens on Messenger. Anything that can happen with friends and family can happen together on the app. It’s interesting to work on a product that has so much humanity baked in. When I decided not to be a musician anymore, I wanted to go back to school to learn psychology. Of course, much of psychology has to do with relationships. I was interested in how people relate to one another. Messenger is a place where people grow old and form new relationships.

Q. What does it mean to “push the boundaries” in your work? What are some of the key trends that grasp your attention, and where do you think we are going next?

To push the boundaries in modern communication means to continue to innovate how we can bring people together and build close connections via Messenger. Some key messaging trends that grasp my attention would be the evolution of multimedia, audio, and video.

Over 1.4 billion images are sent every day on Messenger–meaning nearly every 1 in 20 messages sent on Messenger is a photo. For the true math whizzes, that’s about 12,000 photos per second! While photos will always play an important role in visual communication and building close connections, I suspect that audio will begin to override image messaging as the trend continues to rise. Messenger hit an all-time high with people sending more than 400 million voice notes daily.

Additionally, video has become an extension of messaging, especially as keeping in touch took on a new level of importance as a global pandemic sent us all indoors. We had to adapt to a new way of communicating and with the pandemic in full swing, we saw the number of people in group video and audio calls nearly double earlier this year compared to last year, with time in calls growing 150%. To create a space where you could hang out and connect with your closest friends, Messenger also introduced Rooms and offered a virtual living room space to enjoy new memories when they couldn’t be in-person with Watch Together. It’s exciting to see all of the ways people are using the platform together.

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Stephanie Schultz: VP & Head of Partnerships, Amex Digital Labs

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Stephanie Schultz“It’s essential to create the space for people to be heard, especially when some aren’t as comfortable voicing their opinions,” says Stephanie Schultz. “I don’t want to be in a meeting and have everybody agree with a particular direction or discussion. I want to hear the people who are dissenting, or might have a different perspective, because it’s a pressure test – it’s helping to make sure that we’re getting to the most thoughtful outcome.”

Schultz talks looking ahead of yourself in the job hunt, going for the win-win in strategic partnerships, working in a get-it-right fintech culture and the merits of adaptive leadership.

“It’s About The Next, Next Job”

Having no clear idea of what exactly she wanted to do after college other than live in NYC, Schultz graduated with an economics and business degree from Lafayette College – feeling she’d have the breadth to explore her options while getting her feet wet.

But in 2009, she inherited a tough job market in which few of her peers were landing any positions. It was tempting to take the first offer that came – an executive assistant role at a small audio-visual music company – until a previous internship manager questioned whether it was the direction she truly wanted to go.

“She was the one who really encouraged me that whenever I was to think about a job, it’s not about that job. It’s about the next, next job,” reflects Schultz. “That was so important, because in the moment, I had not thought that way – and it was hard to turn down a job at a time when no one was getting them, but I did.”

Schultz kept applying, including at American Express. She did not get the first role she applied for, but the hiring leader recommended her for another better-suited opening, which she then landed.

“I didn’t plan to be working in fintech or at a financial services company, but I was attracted to the brand and the values of the company,” says Schultz. “So thinking about the next, next job, I realized I could spend a long time at Amex, learn a bunch of different things and really launch my career.”

Twelve years on, she’s moved from product development to heading up partnerships for Amex Digital Labs, the innovation hub working to make Amex a leader in fintech. Her team is focusing on developing the next generation of products, customer benefits and membership experiences across the evolving digital landscape through partnerships with both major tech companies and start-ups.

The Strategy of Win-Win Partnership in Fintech

“There is so much disruption happening in payments, which has really excited me and kept me passionate about the work itself,” says Schultz. “The technology is continuously evolving and so are customer needs. Payments are so foundational to everyday life, so it’s exciting to keep learning, to be on the cutting edge of improving and innovating, and to make a tangible impact in something that people do every single day.”

A recent product Schultz introduced, called Send & Split, was created in partnership with PayPal and Venmo, synonymous with peer-to-peer payments. Rather than create their own platform, the Amex Digital Labs team worked with PayPal and Venmo to develop a unique digital integration within the Amex mobile app to create a better customer experience – enabling Card Members to send money to friends and family without the standard Venmo or Paypal credit card fee. Her team also developed value-added features like enabling the splitting of transactions, such as an AirBNB stay or dinner, making it seamless to share bills and ease the social interactions between users.

Not only does she have a reputation for getting stuff done, but also for being able to navigate the tougher territories of strategic partnership. She feels if you come from a receptive solution space, there is often a win-win meeting ground to be found amidst conflict.


“I feel that throughout the years at Amex, I’ve been the person at the helm of some of the more complex questions or unique products,” reflects Schultz. “When a lot of people are saying it just can’t be done, that is the point at which they bring me in to help lead and figure it out.”

Her approach is not to force or strong-arm an outcome but rather – in the context of long-standing relationships across multiple lines of Amex business, complicated initiatives, and unchartered territories – to seek and find a workable and lasting solution for all involved.

“Building relationships is core to what I do, and it’s about thinking of the bigger picture and setting those partnerships up for success,” reflects Schultz. “I used to enter a negotiation feeling as though it’s my side versus your side. Throughout the years, I’ve completely shifted my perspective: it’s not me versus you. We’re in this together, and we want this to be a lasting partnership. So how do I find what really works for both of us? It’s about being real and authentic and transparent with your objectives, and what you’re both trying to achieve, and how you can get there most effectively, together.”

An Integrated Culture of Doing it Right

One of the hardest moments at work was the day Schultz told her boss she was pregnant, because she realized she was anxious about moving towards a time of managing multiple priorities, with family first, and how big of a change it would personally be for her.

“That was a difficult moment to navigate and come to that realization, but now has been the greatest gift of all,” says Schultz. “Becoming a mom has helped me to be more efficient and effective at prioritizing my time and has been a net positive thing on who I am as an all-around human being and empathetic leader.”

Fintech is not at all a “move fast and break things” culture as you might expect, because with working with heavy regulations and major tech companies, the work culture is far more focused on doing it right than just doing it fast.

“The culture at American Express has been something that has kept me in this role. It’s a culture that welcomes the diversity of perspectives and ideas and makes the space for that,” she observes. “You would think the culture might have multiple layers of hierarchy and you have to navigate that, but that has not been my experience. The expert is in the room while the presentation is happening.”

Former Amex Vice Chairman Ed Gillian, whom Schultz was inspired by, was often on the ground floor around projects that were driving digital transformation, working beside managers and analysts.

Digital Labs also has creative ways of cultivating inspiration, as ideas come from any direction. Regularly, her team has inspiration calls where they can share anything, from an article to a new app feature, that may be inspiring them. When it comes to ideas from the ground up, the team has a forum and toolkit to equip anyone with the spark of inspiration to be able to go from idea stage to concept and then to action, while also having access to the investment and resources to get the project off the ground.

Being Adaptive in Leadership

The one thing she most wishes to impart on her mentees is the power of belief and the feeling of being championed, pointing out how teacher Rita Pierson inspired a classroom of struggling students in an underprivileged community to succeed by reframing the way they perceived themselves: “I think that sometimes people’s potential can be redefined based on what other people see in them. There were moments throughout my career when I didn’t necessarily see myself having that potential, but I had a mentor or a sponsor who saw that in me. Everybody deserves that.”

Within the Women’s Interest Network in Amex, Schultz is involved in the Ready To Lead program, mentoring and creating connections for aspiring leaders from other business units. She’s often found mentoring more like building a relationship, and particularly in her role, she often learns about new features and products from her mentees.

When it comes to being a leader, Schultz is thoroughly committed to supporting the unique working processes of each individual she manages, rather than imposing her own style of work.

“I have a more adaptive leadership style with my team. Some people might want me to roll my sleeves up and get in and white-board with them. Other people might prefer to take the challenge away and come back to me later with ideas,” says Schultz. “I personally feel I am there to set the charter for the team, to set the vision and the goals. I believe in a model of service to the people on my team. What works for you to be effective and then how do I flex my support based on what you need, to be a sounding board and roadblock remover and helpful guide along the way?”

While her style is more casual than the normal latitude of management approaches in financial services, being authentic in her own leadership has resonated and served her team and success.

Schultz spends as much time as she can with her toddler, Cooper. Since becoming a working mom, savasana has gone from the pose she could not stay still for to a treasured and glorious moment.

By Aimee Hansen

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